Casio Z800, S200: A duo of affordable new compactsBy
Mike Tomkins(Tuesday, August 3, 2010 - 21:58 EDT)Casio has today introduced two new digital cameras for its EXILIM series, both entry-level units with affordable pricing.

The Casio S200 and Casio Z800 are closely related, sharing the same lens, image sensor, image processor, and much of their firmware functionality. The S200 and Z800 share a 4x optical zoom lens that has a useful 27mm equivalent wide angle, and a maximum aperture of F3.2 to F5.9 across the zoom range. Both cameras have effective resolutions of fourteen megapixels.

Where the pair differ is in their form factor, as well as in their LCD display type, autofocus capabilities, flash strobe range, number of scene modes, available built-in storage, and battery type. The Casio EX-S200 is just slightly heavier than its sibling, and has a body design that's a little slimmer, but rather taller and wider. The EX-S200 offers 34.9MB of built-in flash memory, and draws power from an NP-120 lithium ion rechargeable battery rated as good for 270 shots on a charge. The Casio EXILIM S200 includes an autofocus assist lamp, for focusing in low-light conditions. The S200 also has a whopping 42 scene modes, and offers flash range from 0.2 to 4.2 meters at wide angle, or 0.4 to 2.4 meters at telephoto.

By contrast, the Casio EX-Z800 is the lighter of the pair by a small margin, and while its body is a little thicker, it's also smaller in both width and height. The EX-Z800 offers a not-so-generous 14.5MB of built-in flash memory, and draws power from an NP-80 lithium ion rechargeable battery rated as good for 280 shots on a charge. The Casio EXILIM Z800 doesn't offer an autofocus assist lamp, which will make focusing harder in low-light conditions with nearby subjects. The Z800 also has a few less scene modes with a still-comprehensive 35 on offer, and yields slightly differing flash range from 0.25 to 4.2 meters at wide angle, or 0.4 to 2.3 meters at telephoto.

DOVER, NJ, August 3, 2010 — Casio America, Inc. and its parent company, Casio Computer Co., Ltd., today announced the release of two new stylish EXILIM® cameras, the EXILIM Card EX-S200 and EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z800 cameras, marking the latest additions to the EXILIM family of digital cameras. Both cameras sport advanced features in a slim, compact and stylish body, including a Single Frame SR Zoom that extends the zoom range.

The new cameras make use of the EXILIM Engine 5.0 and super resolution technology to take photos with exceptional clarity and resolution, while the Single Frame SR Zoom maintains image quality through 1.5 times the range of the optical zoom. Other features include the highly-regarded Premium Auto function, which automatically produces beautiful photos with just a press of the shutter button.

“We are very proud of the continuous advancements that are made in our Exilim digital camera line,” said Toshi Iguchi, Senior General Manager, Digital Imaging Division, Casio America Inc. “Their slim and stylish features are a wonderful compliment to the beautiful photos they produce.”

The EXILIM Card EX-S200 is a slim, high-quality, card-sized camera that is only.6-inches at its thinnest part, while the EXILIM Zoom EX-Z800 is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand. Both cameras sport a 4X optical zoom lens that starts at a 27mm wide-angle view (35 mm film camera equivalent) and is capable of taking images with an effective resolution of 14.1 megapixels, while packing numerous other camera features such as Casio’s CCD-shift image stabilization mechanism in a slim, compact and stylish body.

EXILIM EX-S200 Ultra-Slim Digital Card Camera The EX-S200 uses a flat lens barrel and lens ring to achieve a thin and stylish card-sized body that smoothly combines contrasting geometric shapes. The camera was designed with an emphasis on functionality and simplicity, achieving a design that is at once elegant and understated. The EX-S200 comes in five different colors: silver, orange, blue, black and pink. The Quick Mode function powers on the camera with a press of the shutter button, previews a photo after shooting, and automatically powers down. Combined with the portability of the card-sized body, Quick Mode ensures that the user will never miss a photo opportunity.

EXILIM EX-Z800 Compact Digital Camera – Small Enough to Fit in the Palm of the Hand The lens, LCD monitor and buttons of the EX-Z800 are flat to achieve a compact body that fits the contours of the hand. The EX-Z800 comes in six different colors, ranging from basic black and silver to vivid pink, red, yellow and blue. The polished finish of the camera gives it an elegant yet dynamic look. The camera features dedicated Shoot, View and Delete buttons that provide access to each of the basic operations of a digital camera, so that even beginners will find the digital camera easy to use.

Casio’s unique Dynamic Photo function creates composite moving images, making it possible to have multiple characters moving independently of each other against a background of moving images up to as long as 20 seconds. The Art Effect function takes saved images and makes them look like artwork. These features make it possible to enjoy photos in a way that is only possible with a Casio digital camera.

EX-S200/EX-Z800 Features

Single Frame SR Quality delivers images with exceptional clarity and resolution Both cameras use super resolution technology to analyze and optimally process the respective areas of the photo that are contoured, textured or flat, delivering photos of exceptional quality and resolution.

Single Frame SR Zoom extends the maximum telephoto range of the optical zoom The two cameras use super resolution technology to respectively enhance edges, flat areas and textures when enlarging images, by analyzing and adjusting the contours in images and the relief of the subject. The Single Frame SR Zoom extends the maximum telephoto range of the optical zoom up to 1.5 times, while reducing image quality degradation. Both the EX-S200 and EX-Z800 offer a 6X zoom range that maintains image quality for 14.1-megapixel high-resolution photography when using the optical zoom with the Single Frame SR Zoom.

Premium Auto function produces beautiful photos with just a press of the shutter button Premium Auto enables the camera to automatically analyze the scene being photographed – including distinguishing night scenes, back lighting, a blue sky, green trees or a sunset – as well as sensing whether there is a face in the frame, the movement and position of the subject and whether a tripod is being used. It simultaneously optimizes settings for exposure, ISO, sensitivity, focus location, photo blur correction, tonal range and color balance and level of noise reduction. Images are analyzed pixel by pixel to apply different correction to people and backgrounds. Premium Auto delivers an advanced level of full auto photography, ensuring high quality photos with just a press of the shutter button.

Dynamic Photo function for creating composite moving images These cameras offer Casio’s original Dynamic Photo function, which makes it easy for users to create “moving photos” right on the camera by cutting moving subjects from the background in images taken with continuous shooting, and combining those images on a different still or moving image background. With Dynamic Photo on these cameras, it is possible to make multiple characters move independently of each other against a background of moving images up to as long as 20 seconds. These capabilities not only make it more fun to create images, but also offer the fun of sharing images by making it easy to upload images to YouTube™ using the included software or post them to a blog.

Art Shot and Art Effect functions create photos with the look of a painting The Art Shot function makes use of the image processing technology in EXILIM Engine 5.0 to create photos of scenery or human subjects that have the look of an oil painting, crayon, or a water color. With the Art Effect function, it is now possible to apply the same look as the Art Shot function to saved images.

The Z800 will retail for $149.99 and will be available in silver, pink, orange, black and blue. The S200 will retail for $179.99 and will be available in yellow, vivid pink, silver, blue, soft pink and black. Both models will hit shelves in September.

EXILIM and BEST SHOT are registered trademarks of CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. YouTube is a registered trademark of YouTube, LLC. Any other company or product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of those companies.